Power Hour: Rains Soak the Corn Belt

. Meanwhile, heavy rain is soaking portions of the central Corn Belt, while warmth lingers across the Ohio Valley.

In the South, showers and locally severe thunderstorms are pushing into areas west of the Delta. Meanwhile in the Southeast, warm, dry weather continues to promote a rapid pace of fieldwork and crop development.

In the West, warm weather is quickly returning to California and the Northwest, but cold conditions and a few snow showers persist across the central and southern Rockies and the Southwest. Despite recent precipitation, water-supply prospects remain bleak in many areas from California to the central and southern Rockies.

On the Plains, very cold weather prevails, leaving some jointing winter wheat susceptible to freeze injury. The greatest concern exists on the central and southern High Plains, where today’s low temperatures generally ranged from 10 to 30°F. By April 7, wheat was 59% jointing in Oklahoma and 22% jointing in Kansas. Statewide, Texas wheat was 14% headed. Elsewhere, a chilly rain is falling across the southeastern Plains, while wind-driven snow is maintaining stress on livestock in South Dakota, Nebraska, and environs.

The Weather Ahead
A powerful, slow-moving spring storm centered over the middle Mississippi Valley will reach New
England by week’s end. The storm will continue to produce a variety of weather conditions, including strong
thunderstorms in the South, heavy rain in the heart of the Midwest, high winds across the central and southern Plains, and snow in the northern and western Corn Belt.

Toward week’s end, however, tranquil weather will return across much of the U.S. Early next week, there are indications that a new period of stormy weather will commence across the Plains and Midwest, with more active weather (e.g. wind, rain, and snow) expected across a broad area.

The NWS 6- to 10-day outlook for April 15-19 calls for near- to below-normal temperatures nationwide, except for warmer-than-normal weather in the Atlantic Coast States and across the nation’s southern tier. Meanwhile, near- to above-normal precipitation across the majority of the U.S. will contrast with drier-than-normal conditions in the Pacific Coast States and from the Desert Southwest to the southern High Plains
.